Helped by federal funds and private investment, a major push for passenger rail

26.12.2023 - 16:21 / thepointsguy.com / Hudson River / Joe Biden

It's the question rail enthusiasts have posed for years: When might U.S. train travel start to more closely resemble that of Europe and Asia?

When you travel overseas, it becomes only natural to ask.

In recent visits to Europe, I've seen the ease of the continent's train travel firsthand. There's the convenience of traveling from London Gatwick Airport (LGW) to the Tube via the Gatwick Express — a similar concept, itself, to the Heathrow Express that connects London travelers to Heathrow Airport (LHR).

You can take a 186 mph ride on a Renfe train in Spain.

There is likewise an astonishing array of rail itinerary options in Italy, such as a brisk, two-hour ride between Venice and Florence.

Yet, the past few years have brought travelers plenty of reasons to be pessimistic about rail travel in the U.S.

Frustration points range from the seemingly endless hurdles — not to mention billions of dollars lost — on California's long-planned 'bullet train' to operational challenges and financial losses at Amtrak, and worn-out, century-old bridges and tunnels (not to mention delays) along the critical Northeast Corridor.

However, these days, there are signs of an American train travel renaissance — one Rep. Donald Payne, Jr., D-N.J., likened to "the beginning of the interstate highway system" during a June congressional hearing.

"I really think we're on the cusp of a new era for passenger rail," Laura Mason, Amtrak's executive vice president for capital delivery, echoed in a recent interview with TPG.

"I think all the indicators are going in the right direction," Mason said.

The boost passenger rail has gotten from the White House in recent years is as profound as it is fitting. For decades, President Joe Biden was known for riding Amtrak to Washington, D.C., from his home in Wilmington, Delaware.

The 2021 bipartisan infrastructure law (passed by Congress and signed by the president) doled out $66 billion for rail — including a haul of money for Amtrak greater than every dollar the federally funded rail company had previously received in its half-century of existence.

In recent weeks, the effects the law will have on rail became clearer.

In early November, the White House announced more than $16 billion in grants aimed at transforming the Northeast Corridor — far and away Amtrak's busiest for rail, which runs between Washington and Boston via Philadelphia and New York. It hosts more than 2,200 trains and 800,000 passengers daily.

The grant money will support the construction of two new tunnels under the Hudson River, relieving congestion to and from New York's Penn Station.

A total of $4.7 billion will fund the construction of a new Frederick Douglass Tunnel in Baltimore — allowing trains to dramatically increase